What a Savior!

Dear sisters and brothers in Christ,

Be careful not to entertain your flesh. He that soweth to the flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption. God, in His great love and mercy has given you a heart that longs for Him; don't dull those hunger pains by going after the food of the flesh which will never satisfy. But if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the flesh, ye shall live. Don't dwell content with the spiritual food you recieved yesterday, He has something new for you today; look well to the health of your soul. Today, if you would hear His voice! Harden not your hearts.  In the book of Jeremiah, God said can a maid forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire? Yet my people have forgotten me days without number! How can you bring forth fruit in your Christian walk, if you are not first partaker thereof?  Lest ye be unfruitful. Be faithful with what He has given you! He made you a new creature, that you might have the desire and taste for the new things. Don't go back to the old! It is not in your own self to have the hunger for the spiritual things, it was a gift from your heavenly Father. In me, that is in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing. I have no place for boasting: it was in His great mercy that He drew me to Himself. It was only His mercy that granted me salvation. O what mercy that Jesus met me there when I prayed and asked Him to save me from so great a death. I long for Him--this, a wonder of His mercy! 

Let us the humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God, and be diligent with our talents, lest what we have be taken away.

The love of Christ, which passes all understanding, be with you.

So Run, That Ye May Obtain.

     I was recently introduced into the world of long distance running. I have found that I must be constantly preparing for a race. Before a race, I must run several practice runs, I must not eat too much before I run, I need plenty of sleep the night before, and I need to be hydrated. I must have discipline to go out and run even when I don't feel like it or else I'm not going to do so well at the race. There are a lot of things I could do that are not inherently bad but if I want to receive the prize I must put my body into subjection and say no.
     In the Bible, Paul likens our lives to that of a runner preparing to win a prize.

           Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run,                      that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all                          things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. I therefore                  so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: But I keep under my                body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to                          others, I myself should be a castaway.

    It is really just like the life we live as Christians. Jesus paid our entry fee to this race with His blood. We had better be winners. We shouldn't run the race just to make it across the finish line. We should run our best! That might mean giving up some of this life's pleasures to focus more on God and His word. But it is worth it.

    The Bible says that all these little things that we busy ourselves with for the enjoyment of our present life will be burned up.
            But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall                   pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth                     also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things                   shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and                       godliness, Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the                           heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
     So let us remember and keep our eyes on our goal. Let's not be distracted with making the journey more pleasant; it will just hinder us on race day.

For the Glory of God

"Let them praise the name of the Lord: for he commanded, and they were created."

Psalm 148:5

   Are you singing for the ears of man, or for the glory of God?

   I recently heard or read how some people sing because of the words, and other people sing because of the music. They could be singing heathen songs just as well as Christian songs. We're not singing because of the delightsomeness of the music, or our masterful ways with our instruments or voices. We're singing because of Jesus! 

    The concerts I like going to best are the ones where I can feel God's Spirit there or am encouraged in the Lord. A concert like this is like a nugget of gold in a pan of rocks. Rocks may seem special by themselves, but compared with gold, they are just another rock to be discarded when we leave our earthly pleasures behind. Our relationship with Jesus is all that we will still have. Get your heavenly house built. The houses you build on earth are not as important as they appear. Eternity is a long time compared with the blink of life you spend here. Will you have something to show for your life after you are dead?

“Seek ye first the kingdom of God, 

and his righteousness; 

and all these things shall be added unto you.”

 --Matthew 6:33

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“Mother, I am afraid; no God I know; 

Please tell me an eternal way to go. 

You taught me how to live, each day by day,

But I am dying, and you don't know what to say.

In our land we honor mothers high,

The very word mother exalted to the sky.

But only the mother with God in her heart

Can teach her child how this life to part.”

--Maria, a Christian in the Soviet Union

Who are you going to be?

   Someone once asked me if I were going to college. I answered no, and he then asked me what I was going to be. I thought, “Well, I already am who I am.” But I decided he really was wondering what job or what occupation I wanted in life. I started to answer, “I don't know what I'm going to be...” And he cut in with some advice on finding a husband.

   I am who I am. What I do in life doesn't have that big of bearing on who I am. Who I am is who I am whether I'm taking trash to the dump, singing at nursing homes, welding rebar, playing chess, smoothing concrete, or playing freeze-tag. These things don't make me me. God made me into me, and I'm sticking with Him no matter what I may do. 

   People like to ask children what they want to be when they grow up, as if they are nothing until they become a doctor, plumber, electrician, or lawyer. So as children grow up, all importance is placed on becoming somebody. First they get their general education, and then they get a good college to make them into who they will be. This process of not quite being who you will be takes quite a long time. And, when you're almost thirty, you become who you are (maybe). And then what? All you know about is becoming and not being, so it probably takes some getting used to. And for the next thirty years, your goal is retiring. And then what?  The next big event is dying, and after that, surprise! It's the main event: heaven or hell.  

   I already am who I am, and I'm not worried about anything I will be doing in the future. I do know I will be serving Jesus. My earthly occupation isn't that important. Jesus said not to even think about what I'll eat or wear. But to seek the Kingdom of Heaven first! He'll take care of all the things everyone else thinks are so important and worries about in life.  

   Why worry about those things, when you know what is truly important? What is truly important is living for Jesus. If you are not, then what good is your life when it is over? So Charity, what are you going to be? I already am who I am going to be. I am a humble servant of the Lord Jesus Christ, and I will continue to follow Him. Jesus said, “A man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.” And I'm pretty sure a man's life doesn't consist of how he got the abundance of things he possesses either.

Walk in the Spirit

   Sometimes it may seem that you are your own worst enemy. Your natural man wants to walk after the way of the flesh, and no matter how hard you want to be good, you just can't. The Bible says to be carnally minded is death, and if you are in the flesh, you cannot please God. There is only one solution: the flesh must die. Jesus died and rose again that we might also die and live again by His Spirit.

   Romans 8:13 says, 

“For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: 

but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body,

ye shall live.”  

   Yield yourselves to God. Walk in the Spirit. Never let that old man you once were have his way; you will but forge chains of slavery for yourself. Romans continues, 

“As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” 

I know that when I pray and read my Bible, seeking God with my whole heart, He comes and is with me and teaches me like a good father does. And every time I'm with Him, I just want to be with Him more. I want to do things that please Him.

   The Devil tries to throw a whole bunch of things at you to try to get you distracted from your spiritual walk because when you are with Jesus, you are dead to all the Devil's tricks. The Devil knows that you will get weak if he can keep you away from your time with Jesus. He hopes you will yield to the flesh, so he can have you for his servant again. Resist the devil. Remember, you need not struggle.  Jesus said, in John 16:33, 

“Be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” 

The battle is already over, and Jesus has won. The Devil has no power over you.
   Walk in the Spirit. Do everything the way Jesus would have it done. Don't let your eyes get distracted from Him. Always take time to learn from Jesus and fellowship with Him. When planning your day, always remember Jesus is your number one priority. If nothing else gets done in your day, take time to be with Jesus. Keep your priorities straight! Jesus is always most important.

True Patriotism

   Is a true patriot one who loves his country and would do anything for it? Or is a true patriot one who clings to truth and right, and will fight to keep his country on the right path? 

   Let us take Germany in World War 2 for example. Were its true patriots those who were all for Germany despite its Nazi leaders, or those who fought against the evil, even if it meant siding with the enemies of their own country? Who were the true patriots?
   I feel it is not good to be blinded by “patriotism” (love of country). Patriots by that definition would die for their country even if it were in the wrong. Countries change. Their leadership and ideals change. But good, truth, and right never change, though the general perceptions of them may. They never change because God, who set them forth, will never change. The only way to always know the truth is to know Jesus. 

   If I had a country, I would rather have citizens whose only allegiance was to Jesus Christ than citizens whose love was for the country alone. They might die for the country, but would they die for the right?

   Let your allegiance be to Jesus Christ, and be not blinded by patriotism.

Haggai

   I recently read the book of Haggai. It tells about the people of Israel working hard to make themselves comfortable before building God's house. They weren't prospering. God told them to consider their ways and build God's house, and He would take pleasure in it and be glorified. All the people obeyed and feared before the Lord. So God told the people that He was with them, and they built the temple. When it was done, God told them because they hadn't turned to Him, he had caused their labors to not prosper. But since they had laid the foundation of the Lord's temple, He said, "From this day I will bless you."

   I think it is neat that the book of Haggai is an example for us in our lives. If we're too busy making sure we're comfortable and everything is fine for us before we make sure everything is right between us and God, I doubt if God will be pleased. We should always put Him first. How could we ever prosper if God is not with us? Proverbs 3:5-6 says, "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."

   Don't think that everything would go wrong if you took time from what you think you need to do to support your life to pray and find out what God's will is. God promised that He would take care of you if you trust in Him.

   Jesus said: No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

   We just finished reading Exodus, and something stood out to me that goes along with the message. God said to take the Sabbath off even during planting and harvest. Why was it so important? In God's very creation, He created a day for resting and seeking Him. No one has any excuse for not having a time to seek God, because God made a day just for this very purpose. God wants you to seek Him above all else.

"Joy is not the absence of trouble, but the presence of Jesus." --Unknown