Five Reasons Not to Worry:

Life is short. Death is sure. Here are five reasons not to worry.

1. Worry is disobedience to God
2. Worry is a sign of unbelief
3. Worry can lead to physical problems
4. Worry makes no sense
5. Worry has never accomplished anything

God can do what you can't do. You don't understand, but He does. You are weak, but He is strong. You can't solve your problems, but He can. He will never leave you or forsake you.

1 Peter 5:7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.

• God is omnipotent -- always available
• God is sovereign. He may allow a problem to come into your life, but its in His hands
• God is faithful. You can count on Him
• God is true. You can claim His promises because God cannot lie
• God is love. He doesn't make mistakes. He'll not give us a problem we can't handle.

Too many believers think God doesn't care about them. Oh, but He does. He watches over the sparrow, won't He watch over you?

There is power in the presence of Almighty God. Remember that when you pray.

How can eating meat sacrificed to idols be sinful?

Some in the Corinthian church ate the cheaper meat, but others, saved out of paganism, refused to eat it. Paul called them weak believers. It was causing division among them.

1 Corinthians 8:4 As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world and that there is non other God but one.

The stronger saints had spiritual knowledge, experience, and understood their authority and freedom in Christ. But eating idol meat offended the weak members even though God allowed it. Paul tells them not to eat the meat if it offends their brothers and sisters in the Lord. It doesn't mean to cater to every whim.

You can't force-feed immature believers. Knowledge must be mixed with love; otherwise, the saints will end up with big heads instead of enlarged hearts. Where knowledge is balanced by love, the strong Christians will have a ministry to the weaker ones, and the weak Christians will grow and become strong. Love and patience works wonders 

The believer is simply a "jar of clay"; i

...Its  the treasure within the vessel that makes it valuable.

2 Corinthians 4:7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us.

To begin with, God has made us the way we are so that we can do his work. He said of the Apostle Paul, "He is a chosen vessel unto Me, to bear My name before the Gentiles." (Acts 9:15)

No Christian should ever complain to God because of his lack of gifts or abilities or because of his limitations or handicaps. Our very genetic structure is in the hands of God. We must accept ourself for who we are. We must seek to become a vessel of honor, set aside for the Master's use.

We must focus on the treasure within and not the vessel. Paul wasn't afraid of suffering or trials. God controls these and is glorified through weak vessels. Sometimes God allows the vessel to spill out blessings on others.

The important thing about vessels is that they be clean, empty, and available for service.

Faith reaches upward, hope reaches inward, and love reaches outward.

            1 Corinthians 13:13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

Faith is a gift of God. By faith Sara received strength to conceive and deliver a child when she was too old. The patriarchs embraced God's promises by faith, seeing them afar off. The stabilizing power of faith gives us security. Faith has answered prayers again and again in my life.

The basis of our hope is in the Lord, and the purpose is to anchor the soul. The object of our hope is unseen, but the duration of our hope is eternal. My hope is built on nothing less that Jesus' blood and righteousness.

Though you speak like angels, prophesy, understand all mysteries and knowledge, move mountains with your faith, give all your goods to feed the poor and your body to be burned; it means nothing if you don't love people. 

Love suffers long, is kind, doesn't envy, is not puffed up, is well behaved, isn't selfish or easily provoked, and rejoices in truth. Love bears, believes, hopes, and endures all things. Love never fails.  Love lifted me. 

Why I glory in the cross.

The cross made a difference in my life. It gave me a new Father, a new family, a new faith, and a new future. 

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

The cross cancels the debt of sin which incurred in the Garden of Eden and passed on to all men.

The cross imposes a duty to present our bodies a living sacrifice which is our reasonable service. That is a daily, personal commitment. Jesus said, take up thy cross and follow me. 

The cross provides a direction for salvation, submission, and service. Man is a creature with a destiny. There are only two destinies. One doesn't have to do a thing to reach hell. The cross stands at the entrance to heaven. 

One day they led Him up Calvary's mountain

One day they nailed Him to die on a tree

Suffering anguish, despised and rejected

Bearing our sins, my Redeemer is He

Living, He loved me

Dying, He saved me

Buried, He carried my sins far away

Rising, He justified freely forever

One day He's coming

Oh glorious day

J. Wilbur Chapman

The Eye of the Needle

Can a rich man go to heaven? When the rich young ruler came to Jesus asking what he must do to inherit eternal life, Jesus knew he was a good, moral man. The guy said he had kept commandments pertaining to man since childhood. But he lacked something. Jesus asked him to sell his riches, give to the poor, and follow Him. The man went away sad and unsaved.

Mark 10:25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

This has nothing to do with the eye of a sewing needle. In Bible times cities were surrounded by walls for protection. People went in and out of a huge gate that was hard to open. To make it easier, they built a small door called the eye of the needle, but they opened the big gate for camels loaded down with cargo. 

Jesus loved us so much that He took the sin-freight that kept us from going through the glory door, freeing us from that burden. We, the rich man, and all believers can go through the eye of the needle to heaven. 

Many outside the gate cling to riches or pride or whatever it is that has them loaded down. They need to unload on Jesus.