Tag: The Good Shepherd

From Such Turn Away!

Mark 7

7 Then came together unto him the Pharisees, and certain of the scribes, which came from Jerusalem.

2 And when they saw some of his disciples eat bread with defiled, that is to say, with unwashen, hands, they found fault.

3 For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, except they wash their hands oft, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders.

4 And when they come from the market, except they wash, they eat not. And many other things there be, which they have received to hold, as the washing of cups, and pots, brasen vessels, and of tables.

5 Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashen hands?

6 He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.

7 Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

8 For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do.

9 And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.

10 For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death:

11 But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; he shall be free.

12 And ye suffer him no more to do ought for his father or his mother;

13 Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.

14 And when he had called all the people unto him, he said unto them, Hearken unto me every one of you, and understand:

15 There is nothing from without a man, that entering into him can defile him: but the things which come out of him, those are they that defile the man.

16 If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.

17 And when he was entered into the house from the people, his disciples asked him concerning the parable.

18 And he saith unto them, Are ye so without understanding also? Do ye not perceive, that whatsoever thing from without entereth into the man, it cannot defile him;

19 Because it entereth not into his heart, but into the belly, and goeth out into the draught, purging all meats?

20 And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man.

21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,

22 Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness:

23 All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.

I had it on my mind today to talk about thinking. You know…….a man left alone with his own thoughts and what God thinks about that. After all, most of what we hear today is derived from our own thoughts. Whether you are one who chooses to think that God does not exist, that God is a God of love and accepts or tolerates everything and everyone, or that the rules God has may be a little more conservative than this liberal world would like Him to be, or thinks He is. No matter what, I got to thinking…..what does God think about our wisdom compared to His. I was led to Mark chapter 7 and read this beautiful nugget of wisdom. I praise God for His teaching.

First let’s take note that Jesus corrected sinners. Yes, that’s right, Jesus corrected people. Please, don’t take my word for it, read it here. The Pharisees were self-righteous people who thought that they were better than everybody else because they were righteous and everybody else was not. They thought they did not sin, and they were trying to trick Jesus into blasphemy as they questioned His wisdom with their own. Their conduct is sin, its idolatry. And notice that Jesus referred to the Pharisees as hypocrites. Why is that important? Because if Jesus was alive today and did that so many people would say, “Don’t judge me.” Notice that Jesus did not condemn them, so there was no judgment. He did identify a behavior and called it our as such. The point here is that there really is a difference. I think that sometimes we are guilty of reading the written word and injecting emotion where it ought not to be. However, I also believe that sometimes we read the written word and fail to inject the appropriate tone, inflection, excitement, anger, and other emotions too. We think what our minds want us to think. I believe that means that we want to think that Jesus never corrected anyone, he never called a man out on his sin, and he never got angry or spoke with emotion. I believe these verses tell a different story. I believe that Jesus was passionate about being about His Father’s business. I think these words indicate that Jesus was not the all loving God that tolerated everything. I think it clearly states that Jesus was the all loving God who put his foot down and did apply emotion when it was the right time.

Notice verse 21. Let’s clearly indicate that when we talk about the heart, it is a metaphor for the brain. Let’s admit what we know, the human heart is a muscle that pumps blood through the body. It does not think, feel, love, or engage the rest of the body in any form of action. It pumps blood as commanded and regulated by the brain and that’s it. The brain is where we think and that is what Christ is talking about here. From our mind, where we are to meditate on God in ALL ways and at ALL times, we derive evilness. These are not my words, but those of Christ. Here Jesus tells us where we go wrong most of the time. He tells us that the things we say, the things that come from within, and the thoughts that generate our words and our action are what defile a man. In our mind we think of all the things he mentions in the remaining words of 21 and in verses 22 and 23. Jesus tells us the things we contrive in our head are sinful, but if we were to think on the things above, we would not sin.

2 Timothy 3

3 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.

2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,

3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,

4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;

5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.

6 For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts,

7 Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

8 Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith.

9 But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as their’s also was.

10 But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience,

11 Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me.

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

13 But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.

14 But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them;

15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

17 That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.

Again, I read verse 8 and wanted to post it. But as I read the verses around it, and saw the context, I see again that God is better at explaining His point than I am. I am so unworthy. In verse 8 God tells us that in the end times man will have a corrupt mind. Now I do not know exactly how close we are or are not to the last day. I will not even pretend to guess, as God has clearly told us how foolish that is. Man has also made himself out to be a fool by repeatedly predicting the end of time inaccurately. But again, in this chapter we are seeing the unacceptable behaviors laid out for us to know and understand. We are also told what the acceptable behaviors are. It does not matter who you are, you cannot change those. If you are an unsaved sinner looking to make God into something that brings you comfort in your sin, you will not find that in the Christian faith that I belong to. If you are a Christian trying to tell the world that living in sin is okay because God loves everyone, then you are not telling God’s word you are telling your own story and according to verse 8 you are reprobate concerning the faith, which is to say that you are so far away from the faith that you have no conscience for your sin. You have no shame or guilt for your sinfulness. And to approve of sinfulness would indeed be a message that is anti-scripture and, as fruit, would indicate that the truth is not in you. I know too many people who proclaim Christ and tell me that hanging out with sinners is good, and that even Jesus did it. Yes, He did, as he talked to them about that sin. He did not sit with them and drink booze, smoke cigarettes, watch horror movies, throw parties and give them any reason to believe that living in their sin was okay with our ways. What does it say from the end of verse 5? “From such turn away.” You are not the God man, you are not to befriend and live with the unsaved.  You are told to stay away because you may fall yourself, and Christ knows that so He tells you to say no to those relationships.

I love verse 16 because in it, we are told to use the scripture to reprove (which means correct) each other and that those who are of the spirit will receive that correction. Those who wish to do good works would be wise to hear it, and do it. In James we are told to be doers of the word, not just hearers of the word. If you hear the correction, then make the correction.

This world is not kind to correction. It is absolutely comfortable living in its sin. It is only going to get worse. But we exacerbate that because Christians are not following the word. We are letting the people we love slip away from God by being too afraid to hurt their feelings, or to lose them as a family member. We are picking our earthly relationships over our Godly relationship. In that end, we will only ever have our earthly relationships.

I love you so much that I will not lie to you. I love you so much that I will not withhold from you the truth that set me free, because I want you to be free from the consequence of sin too. I will love you so much that I will not quit or give in just because you say God’s truthful love is hateful; because I know that no one really wants to endure correction, even me. I will love you so much that I will not hoard salvation all to myself, but rather share with you the truths you need to know so you can make the best choice in your life, to receive Christ into your mind and share His greatest gift of all, the cleansing love of the blood of Christ.

If you stand in the mirror, what will the reflection tell you about your relationship with God and what are you going to do about it? May the peace of God be abundantly heaped upon you and your home, straight from the cross to the Christian!

Christ is not your boy toy.

This world is coming unraveled, and it is speeding up the unraveling with each passing day. The bible warns us, many times over, of what is to come (which I believe is already here in some regard) and how to identify it, and then how to deal with it. We can boil the reasons down to just one, sin. But I know that is when people start rolling their eyes and say, “Yeah, yeah, yeah! Sin, that’s the reason for everything with you people!” So instead of just saying ‘sin’, let me try to put it another way, let me reveal how God puts it, and see if we can’t clear some things up.

I am reading from the second epistle (a short dispatch or note) of John. There is only one chapter, so let’s go directly to verses 7 through 11.

7 For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.

To start off with, we are told here that if there be a person who does not confess that Jesus Christ is God in the flesh, they are a deceiver. We have no need to interpret this, as it is plain. There is no reason why a Christian entertains theory from a person who does not believe that Jesus Christ was God in the flesh. In fact, there are many who confess this, but fail to actually believe it. This is a principal that is a huge hiccup for a lot of people. Faith is more than lip service. It is a total belief system. You say it, but do you confess it from the nucleus of your mind? With all of your logical senses, do you truly confess that Christ is God in the flesh?  In the next verse, John starts of with the word ‘THIS’. The word indicates the behavior. ‘This’ really means those who do not confess and believe that Christ is the God man, and that this behavior makes a person a deceiver and the enemy of Christ. I know that when we talk about an anti-christ, we think of just one person that is going to rise to power as the testimony of Christ reveals in the pages of Revelation. But here, John is letting you know that ALL who do not believe are an enemy of Christ. This is serious business folks. I put it to you because I think the Christian of today believes that a relationship with Christ is some cavalier on again off again deal. Christ is not your trophy girlfriend, or your boy toy. He is almighty God and this is a lot more serious than you think!

Ellicot wrote– “among all the human errors by which the influence of the Evil One is manifested, this is the most destructive. Those who adopt such errors are the most fatal deceivers and opponents of Christ and truth.”

John Gill wrote- “who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh; these were not the Jews who denied that Jesus was the Christ, though they would not allow that Christ was come in the flesh; but these were some who bore the Christian name, and professed to believe in Jesus Christ, but would not own that he was really incarnate, or assumed a true human nature, only in appearance; and denied that he took true and real flesh of the virgin, but only seemed to do so; and these are confuted by the apostle and upon everyone of these he justly fixes the following character.”

8 Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward.

Why is the gathering of the saints important? Why is a church home important? Why should the brethren be the most important people in your life? Because we are to ‘look to ourselves’. We are to be AWAKE!! We are to be on constant guard for the series of men who deceive and who are an anti-christ. We are to be a peculiar people set aside all on one accord, like minded so that when we see that which is not right we can identify it as such and stay clear of it. Christians are not hate mangers and we are not filled with phobias. We believe the BIBLE declares a right behavior and a wrong behavior. As we all should be on the constant lookout for flaws in our own lives, we are also on the constant lookout for the snares of the world. And we are to identify them, call them out so we can all, together, stay clear of them. Why? So that we do not lose the things which we have wrought. This is very clear. We must be watchful for if we fail, we lose all the ground we covered. It is a constant effort, it is an endless walk, it is enduring to the end, it is making the good choice, it is leaving behind your earthly flesh and giving over to God all that is you. There is a finish line to cross, a reward to be lost, and a hell to shun. But there is a full reward to be had, a heaven to be gained for those who endure unto the end. In Galations 3:3 Paul asks the Galatians if they were so foolish as to begin “in the spirit” and then be “perfected by the flesh”. We must remain vigilant in rebuking those who would mislead us with wrong interpretations of God’s word. That is the answer to the ‘why’ questions. So that we can bare each other’s burdens and be our brother’s keepers.

Benson comments– “Lest you lose the reward of what you have already done, which every apostate does; but that we receive — Which every one that is faithful unto death shall do; a full reward — That, having fully employed all our talents to the glory of him that gave them, we may receive the whole portion of felicity which God has promised to diligent, persevering Christians.”

Adam Clarke comments– “This reading is more consistent and likely, and is supported by at least as good evidence as the other. We find that if these persons did not keep on their guard they might lose their salvation, and the apostles their rejoicing in the day of the Lord Jesus. Even this intimation might put them on their guard. Had the apostle said ye cannot finally fall, what a different effect would it have produced!”

Ellicott writes– “The result of the error would be loss of the fellowship with the Father and the Son in truth and love.”

9 Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. 10 If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: 11 For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.

Again, there really is not need for too much discussion as this is pretty clear. If you subscribe to crying out LORD LORD and do not have the doctrine in you, you are not abiding with God. These are His words. Not only does God want you to believe in Him, He wants that faith to produce obedience. He does not just want you to believe in Him, He wants you to abide with him. The word abide (μενων) refers to being one with, not separating or becoming something different. That’s how close God wants you to be with Him. But if we transgress by not being one with the doctrine of Christ, God tells us we are not one with Him, but that we have become something different; we are apart from Him. If we do keep the doctrine then we are one with Him. And this is so important to God that He tells us, that if anyone comes teaching something that is not right, we are not to receive that person. Now, John is saying that this person should not be permitted to teach or preach in the house of God because that is not the doctrine of Christ. But this verse does not stop at the house of God alone. If you are a true Christian, then when you leave church and go home, you are truly leaving one house of worship and going to another house of worship. So if the anti-christ is not to be in the church house, he is not to be in your home also. In-fact, the next few words tells you to not bid him God’s speed. This means that we are not to encourage them to continue to preach, teach, talk false doctrine. If you encourage an anti-christ, you then are promoting the false doctrine and are now one with the enemy of Christ. God is simply saying, pick a side. There is no middle. You are either one with me, or you are not.

Benson states– “….so the Christian sister to whom the apostle wrote this letter, being probably rich, and of a benevolent disposition, thought herself under an obligation to supply the wants of those strangers who went about preaching. Wherefore, to prevent her from being deceived by impostors, the apostle here directs her to require such teachers to give an account of the doctrines which they taught; and if she found that they did not hold the true Christian doctrine, he advised her not to receive them into her house, nor to give them any countenance. And this advice of the apostle was certainly perfectly proper, because they who entertained, or otherwise showed respect to, false teachers, enabled them the more effectually to spread their erroneous doctrine, to the seduction and ruin of those whom they deceived.”

Ellicott writes– “Although it would be possible to love unbelievers, in the sense of earnestly desiring that they might come to a knowledge of the truth, it would be wrong—for sincere Christians it would be impossible—to hold out to them the right hand of fellowship. Especially dangerous would it be for the matron and her family.”

This sharing of the word is done so that we may allow the spirit to convict each of us accordingly. I can only know for sure where I stand. Am I a deceiver, or does God abide in me and me in him? I fail everyday to be perfect. But I strive to be as perfect as possible. I am confident that this is a goal that only Christ attained, but I cannot let that be the excuse to do less than I am gifted to do. The truth is, I may not be gifted to do much at all. But God, I believe, loves to see the effort. I must try to grow and learn and to allow the spirit in me to produce works that bring glory to the throne of God.

If you stand in the mirror, what will the reflection tell you about your relationship with God and what are you going to do about it? May the peace of God be abundantly heaped upon you and your home, straight from the cross to the Christian!

Joy is One Prayer Away

I think one of the reasons that people think Christians are a crazy group of people is because one true attribute is that, for those who truly worship God, we put God first. It looks crazy to those who do not worship God when a Christian rejoices in hardship.

Right now I know a man suffering from a rare form of Leukemia. Yes, it is true that he wishes this would pass and that he would remain healthy and watch his children grow old. Yes, he asks God for healing. But he prays more for peace. He trusts God will have His way, and that brings about a peace in him. There have been highs and lows in this journey, but the one consistent is his faith in the Creator. Another example is morality. I think most people have a line they will not cross. Most of us have a line where we will end friendships, walk off a job, or in some fashion terminate a relationship. For Christians who read and truly desire to be a follower of Christ, that moral line is much more conservative. People will look at a believe and say,” you left because of that?” What we find to be deal breakers in our walk with Christ is everyday living for most people in the world today. It is all because we are not the dictator of morality. We recognize God has that authority, and we try to obey God’s word, not the norms of a fallen society.

The Apostle Paul wrote the letter, with Timothy, to the church in Philippi. The first chapter starts off under the title of “Joy in Suffering”. Yet, at the time he wrote about his Joy, Paul was looking into the face of death as he anticipated his sentence from Rome for preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. But instead of looking at it with fear, instead of compromising his faith and beliefs to save himself, instead of looking at it as the end of his life, he looked at it as an opportunity to continue to preach Christ as he defended himself, knowing that no matter what happened, God’s throne would be glorified. Looking at the situation and wanting to stay on earth to spread the gospel, and wanting to leave this earth to be with the LORD in heaven, allowed Paul to be okay with whatever God’s plan was. Paul looked at his service as continual until he died, and was happy to die in that service. Paul stated that even as he defended his actions, because he would be proclaiming Christ, he was still serving the LORD.

Philippians 1:15-20

15 Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife; and some also of good will:

16 The one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds:

17 But the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defence of the gospel.

18 What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice.

19 For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,

20 According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death.

So when you have the mental attitude that no matter where you are, no matter what is going on around you, God put you there on purpose to spread His Gospel, the true believer asks, how can this get any better? How can I not cry tears of joy, in the midst of great sorrow?

So then we go to Chapter two, and read about joy in serving. Again, remember that the words Paul and Timothy put together here, were at a  time when Paul believed his sentence in Rome would be death.

Philippians 2

2 Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.

3 Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.

4 Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.

5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:

6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:

7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:

8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

Joseph Benson commented;

The apostle, in the latter part of the preceding chapter, having exhorted the Philippians to walk worthy of their Christian profession, by having their conversation according to the gospel; and, as nothing is more required by it, or can be more suitable to it, than mutual love among the followers of Christ, he here beseeches them, by every thing most affecting in Christianity, to fulfil his joy, by exercising that love.

Of verse 3 John Gill commented.

but in lowliness of mind, let each esteem other better than themselves; not as to the things of the world, in respect of which one man may be a better man than another, and he must know and think himself so; nor with respect to the endowments of the mind, and acquired abilities, which one man may have above another; and the difference being so great in some, it must be easily discerned, that one is more learned and knowing, in this or the other language, art, or science; but with regard to, grace, and to spiritual light, knowledge, and judgment: and where there is lowliness of mind, or true humility, a person will esteem himself in a state of grace, as the great apostle did, the chief of sinners, and less than the least of all saints; one in whom this grace reigns will pay a deference to the judgment of other saints, and will prefer their experience, light, and knowledge, to his own; and will readily give way, when he sees such that are of longer standing, of greater experience, and more solid judgment, as he has reason to think, than himself, are on the other side of the question; and so peace, love, and unity, are preserved. This grace of humility is an excellent ornament to a Christian, and wonderfully useful in Christian societies.

Other verses throughout the bible that remind us that we are to have joy as followers of Christ and being His, no trouble is too great, no situation is too bleak, no fear is too great for God to overcome.

James 1:2-3

2 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;

3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.

Romans 15:13-14

13 Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.

14 And I myself also am persuaded of you, my brethren, that ye also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another.

Being filled with the spirit should bring you so much joy that you no longer need to rely on yourself for happiness. When we lack joy, we, as believers, have freely handed it over to satan and said here it is, take it, I don’t feel like focusing on God today. Non-believers cannot even begin to imagine what it is like to be filled with comfort and joy when times are so hard you literally have no idea where the next meal is coming from. Many non-believers try to fill that void inside with sin, pleasures of the flesh that lead  you down the path to utter darkness. But when we rely on God, when we rejoice in Jesus Christ and have no trust in the flesh. That sadness, that desperation, that loneliness is replaced with the joy of hope for an everlasting tomorrow. Love, which was once conditional and emotional, is now shared with everyone you meet, known and unknown. Sinners and brethren are loved from the depths of your soul that you never new existed until it was revealed to you by the dwelling of the Holy Spirit. You understand that love because you now get the picture of how God loved you even when you did not love Him. I have never in my life felt love for stranger like I do since accepting Christ. I have never known the depths of love like I know for my brothers and sisters in Christ, some of whom I have never met face to face. There is no greater joy than feeling that FOR them, and feeling that FROM them. I can make it through anything; not because my name is Mike, and not because I am special. Mike is an utter failure, destined for hell before I ever left my mother’s womb. No, I can do anything because my head is an Almighty, Omniscient, Sovereign God, creator of all that is. He is in me and all around me because that is how I choose my inner-circle. It is only one prayer away for you too.

If you stand in the mirror, what will the reflection tell you about your relationship with God and what are you going to do about it? May the peace of God be abundantly heaped upon you and your home, straight from the cross to the Christian!

What is it that we should prove?

I wish that I could say that the political season we are in is the reason for this thought, but it is not. There are many people who are alive today thinking pretty highly of themselves. So many, it is fruitless to list. I was reading these verses and thought that God was speaking to me about this very day.

As I spoke with the LORD, I was blessed to be led to read a couple of verses from this chapter. I am not one who likes to pick out one liners to prove a point because I believe if I am truly representing a point that is actually God’s point, which is what we are to do, then I like to read a few verses before and after the chosen verse. As I did that here, I kept saying wait, that’s good, let me go up a couple more, and let me read down a couple more.

I could not stop reading because I feel like these instructions are abandoned today, not only by the lost and dying world, but by Christians. Do we even know what it means to present our bodies as a ‘sacrifice’ and ‘holy’? Do we really know what it means to be transformed in the mind and to not conform to the world? And what is it that we should prove, our thoughts and desires? According to the scripture we are to prove God’s will, not ours. Yet, I look around and big churches are letting the smaller things go in the name of attendance. I don’t see that as an acceptable exception here. In fact, that looks more like man trying to save man. That looks like man doing what it takes to bring people to a building rather than just speaking the truth and letting the spirit bring people to the His house. In one case, it is man’s house, in the latter it is God’s house, and I fear man will not learn the difference until judgment day.

It is up to you; you read and you tell me, are we doing it God’s way, or are we doing it our way? That’s my thought, my question to you.

Romans

12 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

4 For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office:

5 So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.

6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith;

7 Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching;

8 Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.

9 Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.

10 Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;

11 Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;

12 Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;

13 Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality.

14 Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not.

15 Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.

16 Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits.

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

18 If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.

19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.

20 Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.

21 Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.

First we see Paul almost begging his brothers in Christ, whom he loves, to remember that we are to give our bodies over to Christ. We are to hold onto nothing for ourselves. We are to sacrifice the sins of our flesh that we loved and that we enjoyed. We are to give that up by not belonging to the worldly activities that promote and celebrate these activities. We are to be transformed in our mind, thinking of God and the things that are His and not the worldly lies satan tells us. Once ‘transformation’ takes place, it is no longer about our thoughts and our will, but the Father’s. As hard as it is, we are to speak His word to the world, and that includes people we love. We do not hold His truth back because we are afraid of hurting our loved ones. Which one is worse, you hurt them now for a season and possible save them, or you let them the live in sin and enjoy your relationship on earth and never see them for all of eternity because you are in heaven and they are in hell? Our minds are to be focused on God (Sober). We are to prove that the Holy Ghost is in us by doing these things. We cannot prove that the Holy Ghost is in us if we are not separate from the world; we cannot prove that we are different if we are the same. We cannot prove the sin saving blood of Christ if we are no different as a saved child of God than we were as a lost sinner. Where is the Glory of God in that?

We see Paul talking, and expounding on the fact that we, believers in Christ, are all members of the same body, when we believe in Jesus. There is one church, no matter how many names we put on the denominations. There is the church of God and we are all members who believe in God. Now that last part is very important. I know there are groups of people who have taken the bible away, and who do not follow the LORD’s commands and are calling themselves a church. Often I am asked, “What should I look for in a church?” My personal answer to that is that you are looking for a church where the message that is being delivered matches the words you read in your bible. If you don’t talk about sin, and the blood, and redemption through that blood, and if you don’t love people and want to see people saved from the consequences of sin, then I would find another church.

Paul talks about not hating or cursing those who persecute you, but rather you bless them, you pray for them. We did not accept the beautiful gift of salvation without the understanding that we were going to be persecuted for being different. We knew that was coming. He tells us that we cannot let this stop us from using the gifts that we have. Some are given the beautiful gift of service. For some reason doing the work of helping, the labor of giving, is a gift that is heaped upon some people. Meanwhile others are called to preach, to teach. Some are called to work with children, and others are called to help organize the church. We tell our members all the time that the job of the pastor is no more or less important than the member who cuts the grass, cleans the sanctuary, pays the church bills, sends in the news articles, organizes the extracurricular ministries, and even offers the wisdom of experience. In our church we love our elders for the wisdom that blesses us all whenever they speak. He tells us here to do what we are led to do. But he also tells us to remember that we do not do it to bring people to us, but to bless God with our service. Everything we do should be for the Glory of our God!!

This whole chapter is just beautiful in its instruction. I feel that in this chapter Paul is not preaching but rather teaching. I feel like this these words are more of a lesson, and we are the student who should hear and then apply. Application is so important in the life of a Christian. We do not need to lean to our own understanding when we look at this as a lesson. Nothing here needs interpreted. Of course, as a Sunday School Teacher, my favorite verse is verse number 9. Our love should not be hidden but exposed, not camouflage but clearly identified, not suppressed but it should be freely given to all. In the process of giving that love we are to hate that which is evil. We are not to like sin. This is another example of love the sinner, but hate the sin. It does seem like we forget that second part these days. We want to love the sinner, and that’s it. We are to do both.

Finally we are to overcome evil. We cannot do that on our own. We can only overcome by way of the truth. That is the only power that is strong enough to overcome evil. That is why we have to be filled with it, in order that we will not succumb to it. Christ has already won. I believe satan knows that. So many people act as though satan has your best interest at heart. I feel like people believe that satan is an advocate wanting them to enjoy life. Satan does not care one tittle about any of us. He is angry that God threw him out of heaven and he knows he is going to lose. He does not want to simply pull you away from rewards in heaven; he wants to keep you from going there all together. Why? He wants to hurt God. That is the only way. God wants us in heaven with Him. He created us to have that relationship with Him. When we worship satan and not God, it hurts God. I believe that. For God so loved the world…… When we love someone so much and they betray us, does it not hurt you? If we are made in His image, is it too far out there to believe that God has feelings too? I say His feelings are pure. His love is more pure than any love we could possibly know. So yes, I believe disobedient children hurt the Father.

If you stand in the mirror, what will the reflection tell you about your relationship with God and what are you going to do about it? May the peace of God be abundantly heaped upon you and your home, straight from the cross to the Christian!

Beware of men!

People say that this is not 1959 anymore. No, it isn’t. In my opinion, it is worse. We have brothers shooting brothers. And today we have a media that is not merely reporting it, but driving it. The media takes a story from one location in the country and fuels the fire in bellies from one shore to the other. Hate is a sin, and yet today we have more hate in us than ever. Our leaders are wholly ineffective as they too are filled with hate. Our elections are no longer about who has the best plan, or vision, but rather who spews the most vile and hateful speech. We pick our leaders according to who can make the other look more inept. Things are reversed to say the least.

In Matthew 10 Jesus said,

6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
7 And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.
8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.
13 And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it: but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you.
14 And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet.
15 Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.
16 Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.
17 But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues;
18 And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles.
19 But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak.
20 For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.
21 And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death.
22 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.
23 But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come.
24 The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord.
25 It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household?
26 Fear them not therefore: for there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known.
27 What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops.
28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

Notice that he did not just instruct his disciples to go out and do acts of service without speaking the gospel. In fact he clearly stated that if you are not received your peace shall return to you and you are to shake the dust off your feet. But the biggest test he gave here is “You shall be hated for my name sake.” I have experienced my own people turn their backs to me for my beliefs. This is a real statement of Christ. It seems to me that we look not for truth, but for acceptance. Any man who stands up and tells the truth about racism and sexism is discredited. That person’s own people attack instead of hear. The truth is the truth, yet we turn a blind eye to it fearful of the impending loss. This is not the truth that lies in the mind of a Christian. The guilty are accountable, no matter who you are, or what you do. We are to fear the one who can take both our present life and our eternal life. Be careful not to sacrifice the eternal for the temporary relationship in this temporary life.

Hebrews 10

12 But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;
13 From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool.
14 For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.
15 Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before,
16 This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;
17 And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.
18 Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.
19 Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,
20 By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;
21 And having an high priest over the house of God;
22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.
23 Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)
24 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:
25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
26 For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,
27 But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.
28 He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:
29 Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?

These words say that because the crucifixion of Christ was the perfect sacrifice we have salvation. Only through the blood of Christ can we be saved. It also says, in verse 26, that we cannot willfully live in sin and be saved. The sacrifice of Christ is not for you because you have chosen the world over God. You cannot be saved from hell, while joyfully and willingly living in the world. This is the gospel and this is the message we should preach to everyone everywhere.

The truth is, there really is a satan, and he really is hard at work. Satan crafts his lies to the weakness of each person. Are you proud in an unhealthy way. I think that pride fits any ism. I can have an unhealthy pride to be a man, causing me to look disparagingly at women. To be so full of pride that I think men are better than women is a sinful pride. The same is true of race and age and geography. If you are so proud of your race that you think it is dominant over other races you are guilty of idolatry. We should be most proud to be a follower of Christ. That pride should be a humble pride in that we want others to have it too. We should not see ourselves as better, but redeemed because we were nothing before receiving the gift of Christ. We need to reject all mediums that try to separate us from this truth. Today, much different than the day of Christ, we have the media working so hard to cause division. We need to walk out of the church house and into the communities and preach the gospel. Notice how Christ tells his disciples to travel. One observation I have is that the only place to hear the true gospel these days is the church house, or the radio- either way there is a choice to not go and not tune in. The days of the street preacher seem to be over. Yet the street is where the message needs to be heard the most. Satan is there, in the streets. He fills it with men calling themselves preachers who spread not the gospel, but hate. Using the name of Jesus, they spread racism and call for violence. This is not of the spirit. Jesus told us to beware of men. We are to look, and examine, and judge the fruit of men. If it is rotten, we are to flee. Today I fear Christians look at these men and follow them because they fill a fleshly desire to be more proud of an ‘ism’ rather than a desire to be proud of being a Christian. We are to speak the truth of God, not repeat the lies of satan.

Likewise, there really is a God, there really was a sacrifice of his son Jesus Christ, there really is redemption available, and there really is a hell for those who refuse. God has left His word not for his benefit, but for ours. It is not hard to know what God’s will is. All we have to do is read. What is hard is for us to deny ourselves. But God tells us His burden is light. He is there to be our savior, not a burden. God is also there to help us endure accountability, and responsibility. Two very core characteristics that are absent in all of satan’s work. God is real, and is the only answer to all that satan puts forth. If we accept God, and rely on His grace and mercy, we will endure all that the world puts us through.

If you stand in the mirror, what will the reflection tell you about your relationship with God and what are you going to do about it? May the peace of God be abundantly heaped upon you and your home, straight from the cross to the Christian!