Posted on

“Follow Me!”

We are followers

It seems in the world in which we live it is hard to know whom to follow.  Our natural tendency is to follow someone or at least try to mimic the life of someone we admire.  Many people look up to celebrities, whether they are actors, singers, pastors, elders, parents, etc.  Even when they fail in some way they will either defend them with all they have or they will get angry and discouraged that this person disappointed them.  The sad news is humans will always disappoint.  They will fail.  We fail at times too.

So whom should we follow?

I am coming from a Christian perspective so what comes to my mind is something Jesus said when He was on earth.

Matthew 4:19,  “And He said unto them, ‘Follow Me and I will make you fishers of men.’”

As a Christian, we should be following Jesus and as we follow Him, He will make us a witness for Him.  As I daily allow Christ to abide with me, He will give me the ability to attract others so that I can share the truth of God’s love.

What does it mean to follow Jesus?

Have you ever known someone who is so obsessed with someone or something it seems that is all they ever talk about?  Or they may even do things just like the person as much as possible.  What would it be like if we would become more “obsessed” with Jesus more than the things of this world?

Matthew 7:21, “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.”

Matthew 16:24, “…If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.”

In following Jesus we need to pursue Him and give up the things of this world, the things that will distract us from following Him.

As Christians, we have been given a commission and unless we are following Christ we cannot fulfill the commission that He has given us.  We have been commissioned to bring others to the truth as it is in Jesus.  To share His love and what He has done for us.  Jesus wants to make us “fishers of men.”

So how does fishing have anything to do with winning souls to Christ?

I did a little research to see what methods were used in Bible times for fishing.  They would do their fishing mostly at night, so the question would be why at night.  They would throw out their nets and the light from their torches would attract the fish.

How do we apply this analogy to “fishing” for people?

I love the night analogy.  As we allow the “torch” of God’s love to shine through us we will attract more people to us and then we can share the truth as it is in Jesus.  If we are trying to attract with a “lure” and “hook” it will not be as effective.  If we are shining, people will be drawn to us. They will be asking us why we have so much peace through the turmoil and why we are calm during the storms of life.  Then we have the opportunity to point them to the One that we are able to trust through every situation.

Matthew 5:16,  “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father, which is in heaven.”

What is our light?

Our light is the bright presence of Jesus in our lives.  It is not from us but from Him.  And we can only have this light as we allow Him full access to our lives so that He can live in us through the Holy Spirit.

2 Corinthians 4:6, 7  “For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.  But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the Excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.”

Dear Father,

Thank You that it is all about You, not us.  Prompt our hearts, with every decision that we make, to do right.  I know that as we spend time with You, You will show us the path to life.  Thank You for Your love.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Give all to Jesus today and let Him shine through you.

Love you all.

I would love to hear your thoughts.  Please share any thoughts below.

Posted on

“Pride or Humility?

Pride or humility

This is a question that we need to ask ourselves.  I have been giving pride and humility some thought lately and it is very eye-opening.  We hear these words passed around but what do they really mean.  So I decided to look them up in the dictionary as well as the Strong’s Concordance and do a little study.  What I found has given me much to think and pray about.

Pride

A high or inordinate opinion of one’s own dignity, importance, merit, or superiority, whether as cherished in the mind or as displayed in hearing, conduct, etc.”  In the Strong’s Concordance, it gave me a little more to think on.  “Haughtiness, arrogance.   The character of one whom, with a swollen estimate of his own powers or merits, looks down on others and even treats them with insolence and contempt.

Mark 7:20-23,  “And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.”

Proverbs 16:18,  “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.”

Pride is having an inward thinking.  If we allow pride to rule our lives, every decision we make will be based on “what is in it for me”.

What “reward” do we get for pride?

Proverbs 29:23,  “A man’s pride shall bring him low:….”

Proverbs 16:18,  “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.”

Pride will destroy a person’s life.  The true joy of life you cannot have when your heart is full of pride.  We cannot have meaningful relationships.  A true meaningful relationship is giving to others when there is nothing in it for us.  Pride brings misery and eventually destruction.

Humility

The meaning of humility, on the other hand, is the opposite of pride.  The dictionary meaning said, “The quality or condition of being humble; modest opinion or estimate of one’s own importance, rank, etc.”  In the Strong’s Concordance, it said, “1) having a humble opinion of one’s self.  2) A deep sense of one’s (moral) littleness.  3). Modesty, humility, lowliness of mind.”

1 Peter 5:5-9

“Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.”

The only way that we can have humility of heart is to allow the Lord access to our hearts so that He can come in and change us.  Humility is to have an outward mindset.  When we look at the life of Jesus we can see that His life was a life of thinking of others.

Philippians 2:3,  “Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than themselves.”  This is what Jesus did and He is our example.

What is the reward for humility?

Proverbs 29:23,  “…. but honor shall uphold the humble in spirit.”

Matthew 18:4,  “Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”

It is only as we come to God in humility, with a child-like faith and wanting to know truth can He teach us.  God wants to teach us His ways.  He wants us to spend time with Him and learn of Him.

John 4:24,  “God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.”

I have wondered many times what this really means.  I am not theologian but I have studied this verse for myself.  And I am going to share what I believe it means. It has been such a blessing to me.

I started out by looking up the word spirit and truth in the Strong’s Concordance.  Spirit can refer to different things but for this study, I am only going to focus on a few.

spirit= seat of emotions, as seat or organ of mental acts (rarely of the will) as seat especially of moral character.

Psalms 143:4,  “Therefore is my spirit overwhelmed within me; my heart within me is desolate.”

Proverbs 15:13,  “A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance: but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.”

Proverbs 16:19,  “Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud.”

There are so many verses I could use but these are the ones that I am using to show spirit as being emotions as well as character.  And our emotions have a real effect on our character but this is a subject for another time.

truth=of divine instruction

Proverbs 3:3,  “Let not mercy and truth forsake thee:  bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart.”

This verse is so amazing to me that I looked up some of the words in the Strong’s Concordance to discover the meanings.  Write = record, Table = tablet, heart = inner man, mind, will.  God wants to write truth upon the tablet of our heart and mind.  This is so exciting to me.

Hebrews 10:16,  “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.”

2 Corinthians 3:2,  “Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.”

Did you know that our heart is our second mind and that our heart has a memory?  There are stories of people that have had heart transplants that have started having nightmares, memories of things they had never done in their lives, or cravings they had never had.   This is very enlightening to me.  As we meditate day and night upon God’s word (Psalms 1:2), we are creating pathways in our brains and our hearts.  God is writing truth upon our hearts and minds.

Dear Father,

Thank You that as we immerse ourselves in You, spending time with You, that You will write Your truth upon our hearts and minds.  Thank You for Your mercy and love.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

I want God’s truth to be so written in my heart and mind. So that my thoughts, emotions, and character change to fully reflect Him.  How about you?

Love you all.

I would love to hear from you.  What has God shown you and how is He leading in your life?

Posted on

“Repent??!!”

Repent

Repenting can be a very hard thing; I think we can all attest to that.  But why is it so hard?  I would suggest that it is because pride is in the way.  In order to repent, we have to humble ourselves.

Relief

I can attest to the fact that when a person finally humbles him or herself and repents it brings such a relief to the soul.  I remember as a young adult going against my parents.  They had said no and I ignored that no and did what I wanted anyway.  For years I always defended my position and felt my parents were wrong, even though the choices I made were making my life miserable.  I did not want to admit that my parents were right and I was wrong.  My parents never brought up the fact that I had gone against their wishes they just loved me and tried to help me in any way they could.

Years later

Several years went by.  I had gone to some workshop and what I heard really hit home.  The realization came to me that even though I could not change the choices I had made I could humble myself and repent.  I went to my parents and asked them to forgive me for my disobedience.  Of course, they forgave me, they already had.  It was me that had a wall between us that made me feel uncomfortable.  Even though my circumstances did not change there was a relief that came to my life.  Remember repenting is not for the other person it is for us.  When we hold something inside it does not affect the other person it only affects us.  I also made things right with God as well, what a blessing.

Our day begins in the evening

I believe that is why God made our day to start in the evening.  We always think of it as the end of the day but it is really the beginning.  If we do not make the right moves in the evening it affects our sleep and the next day.

Before going to sleep at night going through your day and evaluating how your day went, what you learned, maybe how you could have done things better and setting goals for the following day is a good thing to do.

The most important thing is to go to the Lord in prayer and repentance for anything that you have done during the day that has been displeasing to Him.  If you have a forgetful mind like I do I need a little help and God can help us remember.

Psalms 139: 23, 24

“Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:

and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”

God knows everything about us.  Our “heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” Jeremiah 17:9

As your allowing God to search your heart He will show you those that you need to go to and ask forgiveness.  As far as possible it is good to do it before you go to bed, which if it is a family member you can.  But if it is someone not in your home you may need to wait until the next day but make sure to make things right as soon as possible.  It is so relieving in the evening to make things right as far as possible and it starts your day right at night.

What does true repentance look like

You can go through the motions of asking someone or God for forgiveness but how can you know if it is genuine or you are just going through the motions.  The motive is very important.  I know that the Lord can help you see your motive.  There are a couple of stories in the Bible that make me think about the difference.  One is the story of Esau and the other is David.

Esau

Esau came from the field after a big hunt and he was hungry.  He felt he could not make it home and live.  His brother was cooking some food and he begs him for some.  His brother wanted the birthright that Esau had as the first-born so he said, “sell me your birthright and I will give you some food”.  So Esau sold his birthright for a bowl of food.  Later Esau repented but for what reason.  Was it because he was really sorry he had sold the birthright or was it because he realized the consequences?  The latter was really the case for Esau.  He could care less that he disobeyed he was just sorry for the consequences.  Esau did not have true repentance.

Hebrews 12: 15-17

“Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled: Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for on morsel of meat sold his birthright.  For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was reject: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.”

True repentance means change, not just words.  Esau was not living the life that he was supposed to live in order to receive the birthright.  And when he realized that he was not getting it he “repented” but it was for the wrong reason and was not true repentance.  He wanted to blessing without having to do the responsibilities that went along with it.

David

David is the second one I want to look at.  When you read the story in 2 Samuel 11:1-27 it is mind-blowing.  Here he committed adultery with the wife of one of his soldiers and when he found out she was pregnant, he eventually put him on the front lines so he was killed.  So he committed both adultery and murder.  This seems way worse than selling your birthright.

God sees things way different what we do.  To God sin is a sin.  There is no category.  Sin separates us from Him no matter what the size.  Sin also separates us from others.  True repentance brings down the barriers and is so freeing.

David had true repentance but he still suffered some consequences.  True repentance does not always take away the result of our sin.  David’s true repentance is found in Psalms 51.  Read it and make it a part of your life.  The first verse really tells us what kind of God we serve.  “Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.”  God says in Acts 13:22, “….I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfill My will.”  David wasn’t perfect but he was humbled when God showed him his error.  He was truly repentant and that is what makes the difference with God.

Dear Father,

I want to have a repentant heart.  I know that even repentance is a gift from You.  Convict my heart of sin and give me a repentant heart.  Thank You for Your forgiveness and love.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Remember no matter how much wrong you have done God loves you and is just waiting for you to come to Him.  He is full of love and forgiveness.  Ask Him to forgive you and surrender your whole life to Him today.

Love you all.

Do you have a testimony of God’s forgiveness?  I would love to hear it.  Share below.

Posted on

“You Have Been Commissioned For Duty!!”

Commissioned

We all, at least if we are 18 or older, have received a commission of some sort.  Maybe you have been commissioned for jury duty.  You might have even been commissioned into the Military, drafted.  Even sometimes people are commissioned for a particular job at where they work.

We have all been commissioned

It made me think about that as Christians we are all commissioned for duty.  It may be different for each person, depending on age, time of life, position, personality, etc.  But we are all commissioned.

When I was driving to work one day recently the car in front of me started losing control due to slick roads.  I had to pull to the left of him into what could have been oncoming traffic in order to avoid crashing into him.  It was in town turning at a light so traffic was slow and there wasn’t any oncoming traffic and they could have avoided me because there were two lanes.  Right behind me was a one-trailer semi and this gave him a little room to adjust and not hit me.  I am thankful to the Lord that all turned out well.  When you are in a situation like that you don’t always think about what to do you just react to the situation.  Everyone would respond differently depending on his or her experience in driving.

It made me think

When I was thinking my almost accident it made me think about our commission as Christians.  We want to reach out to those that may know Jesus but are discouraged and we want to reach out to those that do not know the Lord.  But how do we safely go about doing this?  How do we avoid having an “accident” (shipwreck our Christian experience by following them)?  What can we do to help those that are slipping off the path without joining in their folly?  How do we come alongside them and reach them for the Lord without losing our own way?  These are questions we all have to ask ourselves.

Different commissions

This is why I believe that all of us have different commissions.  We may have a struggle in a certain area, which makes it a risk for us to reach out to certain individuals.  We may have small impressionable children and we may need to avoid certain things as well.  And the main thing is that we have to be prepared for whatever commission God calls us to.  We need to be equipped.  And maybe He will call us to a place we thought we would never choose to go.  As we equip ourselves God can use us in a broader way.  We cannot do the duty of our commission unless we are equipped.  So the work begins with us.  We cannot share what we do not have.

Jesus has already commissioned us

We have been commanded to make disciples of all nations.

Matthew 28:18-20

“Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, all power is given unto

Me in heaven and in earth.  Go ye therefore, and teach (disciple)

all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the

Son, and of the Holy Ghost:  Teaching them to observe all things

whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway,

even unto the end of the world. Amen.”

God’s Commands are like beacons of light that will guide us throughout the course of our lives.  When we violate God’s commands it will bring conflict and unhappiness.

God has promised great rewards for those who keep His commandments before their eyes.  John 14:21,

“He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me; and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.”

(Hath)  to have, i.e. to hold, to hold fast.  When we hold fast to Christ commands Christ will manifest Himself to us.  That is an amazing thing.

There are rewards for holding fast to Christ commands

We have already learned that:

  • God will reveal Himself to us.

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 14:21

“Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and My Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.”

Reward

  • We will abide in God’s love

1John 3:22

“And whatsoever we ask, we receive of Him, because we keep His commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.”

Reward

  • Our prayers will be answered

1John 2:3

“And hereby we do know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.”

John 14:15

“If ye love Me, keep My commandments.”

Reward

  • We have assurance of our love for God

1 John 5:2, 2

“By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep His Commandments.”

“For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments: and His commandments are not grievous”

Reward

  • Our love for the Body of Christ.

We may not think of all of these as rewards but they are.  They make life, a life of joy.

Navigators chart a course over the waters by observing.  The word that Jesus used when He said to “keep” the commandments has the same meaning “to observe or attend to.”  So just like a ship navigator gets his ability to navigate from the stars so we can get our ability to navigate life through studying and understanding Christ Commands.

How often should we be meditating on the Word?

Psalms 1:1,2

“Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.  But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.”

What might mediating day and night look like?

Pick a verse that you would like to start memorizing.  There may be something you’re struggling with, like anger, depression, unforgiveness, etc.  Pick a verse and go over it several times a day.  Make that the last thing you think about before you go to bed and the first thing you think about when you get up in the morning.  Even if you are up in the night think about the verse.  Keep it ever before you.  This is a habit that will have to be created in ourselves because most of us do not naturally have our minds going to scripture.

God created the day to start in the evening, why?

Genesis 1:5  “…And the evening and the morning were the first day.”

  • The evening is the most important part of our day because it affects the quality of our sleep and sets our mental attitude for the rest of the day.  So, in reality, we don’t “get up on the wrong side of the bed”; It is the attitude that we have when we go to bed the affects how we get up.
  • The evening is the best time to evaluate our day and to set new goals for the next day.  Making sure that everything is right between us and those around us as well as making things right with God by repenting.
  • As we go to sleep meditating on the Scripture and setting our goals before the Lord, it will make a difference in our lives.

Psalm 16:7

“I will bless the Lord, who hath given me counsel: my reins also instruct me in the night seasons.”

I looked up these words in the Strong concordance so I could understand a little more about this verse.

(Counsel means to advise, consult, give counsel, purpose, devise, plan) (Reins mean seat of emotions and affections)(Instruct means to chasten, discipline, instruct, admonish)(Seasons means night as opposed to-day). To me, this means as we keep God’s Word (commands) before our eyes that God will give us insights from His Word and clear direction.  This will dramatically impact the success of our lives.

Dear Father,

I want to immerse myself in Your Word.  I want Your love to shine through me.  Prompt me each time my mind is idle to think upon Your Word.  I am nothing without You and I need You desperately.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

I challenge you to keep the Word of God ever before you.

Love you all.

Some of you may have this habit already in your life.  What method have you used to help keep God’s Word ever before you?

 

Posted on

“Another New Year!”

Another year!

It is hard to believe that it is another New Year.  I don’t know about you but it just seems like yesterday that I started writing 2017 and now I have to start writing 2018.

There are questions that come each New Year.  What is this year going to bring?  Is it going to be a better year?  We can’t change what is going to happen in this coming year but we can decide whether it is going to be better or not.

You Decide

We know that there are going to be good and bad things that happen in the coming year, that is just life.  But what we do with them is what makes our lives either better or worse.  The decision is in our hands.

A lot of people start out their year with New Year’s resolutions.  They may make it through the first month but then it seems to go by the way and life goes back to “normal”.   The “normal” that we are used to, our comfort zone.  We need to get out of our comfort zone and do the right things and stick to them.

I have some suggestions

  1. Start out the year with setting 10 goals. You do not need to set 10 goals but don’t do any more than 10.  These goals can be in multiple areas of your life, spiritual, parental (if you’re a parent), intellectual, emotional, physical, marital (if you’re married), social, vocational, avocational, and financial.  These are just some ideas.
  2. Once you have set the goals, break them down in small steps.  Break your steps down into monthly steps and then into weekly steps.
  3. Make sure to reward yourself. When you accomplish the goal make sure to reward yourself.  You can even write down a reward you plan on when you have accomplished your goal.  Some goals may be habit goals and others may be achievement goals.  For example getting out of debt.  Once you are out of debt you might reward yourself by having a special meal (as long as it is in the budget).  I think you get the idea.
  4. At the end of each week, review. Make sure to review each week.  You can write down what you have accomplished, mistakes you might have made, and what you could have done differently.  And then start a new week of steps toward your goals.

You can make the difference

You can make the difference to how your year turns out.  I know that the best decision that I have ever made that makes my years better is trusting God.  It really doesn’t matter what is going on around me I can trust Him with my life and goals.

Dear Father,

Thank You that we can have a wonderful year with You.  Help us to trust You more through the trials and hard times.  Thank You for bringing us through another year closer to Your soon coming.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Give everything to God today and trust Him with the outcome of this coming year.

Love you all.

What goals have you set for this coming year?