Pages

Saturday, March 28, 2015

I'd Rather Have Jesus

Is your God the God of the Bible? Is He the One you give most of your time, attention, and money to?

Psalm 100:3 Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us and not we ourselves; we are his people and the sheep of his pasture. 

I'm glad The Creator is my God. I'd rather be a sheep in His pasture than to have global fame or more money than I can spend.

If you ever fully understand that the God of the Bible is the God of peace and grace and redemption and everlasting life, then you will let Him work His plan for your life. God is good.

Ephesians 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.  

Friday, March 27, 2015

The Precious Message

Psalm 126:5,6 They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.

The message we've been given to carry to the world is precious. The "Good News"  is that God loves man and died to save him, then arose from the dead to offer justification and eternal life.

The Spirit of God is precious because He goes with us when we witness. He gives us the words to speak. He gouges the heart of the lost person.

We need God to break our hearts over the condition of the lost, to make us bold witnesses. We need to tell others what Christ did in us and what He can do for them. They must know they are sinners in need of a Savior.

The harvest is the Lord's. We rejoice when a sinner is saved.

John 4:35 . . . . Lift up your eyes and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. 

Thursday, March 26, 2015

Christ Lives In Me


Galatians 2:20 I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. 

How do you think you can live for Christ on your own? You can't, you never could and never will. "Christ liveth in me . . ."

When we believe in Christ, He will sanctify us -- set us apart -- by His blood and for His service and glory. It's not automatic. We must die to ourselves every day and allow Him to use us.

But sometimes we sin. We act ugly. We aren't perfect. Thank God for grace.

Sanctification requires a persistent yielding to God, confessing our sins and believing that He will do His work in us.

Wednesday, March 25, 2015

From The Cross

1 Corinthians 1:18 . . . . For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.

From the cruel cross Christ offers salvation to the world, but the majority of people are offended by it. Some say it's too bloody.

O. A. Carson says, "The hardest truth to get across to this generation is what the Bible says about sin."

People don't want to believe they are sinners. They think their good works will get them to heaven. Isaiah said our righteousness is as filthy rags to God. Our Holy God looks for the righteousness of Christ in the hearts of  those who believe.

Absolute Truth:  There is one God and the only way to get to God the Father is by faith in The Son of God. Unbelievers are doomed for eternity.

What does the cross mean to you?

From the cross Jesus pleads, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28).

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Mercy

Believers are surrounded by mercy. When we look back we can say, "Surely goodness and mercy have followed me all the days of my life." (Psalm 3:6)

When we look ahead we remember the words of Jude 21. "Looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life."

As we begin each day, we can say, "It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness." (Lamentations 3:2-23)

When a Christian shows mercy he is set free from grudges that drain the strength and unsettles the mind. It's thrilling to share God's mercy--not judging people, but seeing them through the merciful eyes of Christ.

Monday, March 23, 2015

Add To Your Faith

It's been said that a set of stairs has steps, a recipe has instructions, a school has grade levels, and the Christian life has 2 Peter 1:5-8.

Add to your faith virtue, then knowledge, then temperance, then patience, then godliness, then brotherly kindness, and then charity.

Each virtue builds on the previous one until the believer has reached spiritual maturity (not perfection). It isn't easy, but we will bear more fruit for The Lord's glory, and we will be blessed.

2 Peter 1:8 For if these things be in you and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

This is a call for believers to make a once-and-for-all decision to live for God no matter how difficult it might become.

Sunday, March 22, 2015

The Fruitful Believer

The fruitful believer is in love with the Word of God. It's pages offer all the soul requires to bear fruit. The Bible is the complete revelation of God to man.

Psalm 1:3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

The fruitful believer is a blessing to those around him because his fruit is plentiful. You may never know who is feeding off your life.

The fruitful believer is like an evergreen --  consistent, stable, faithful and dependable in all seasons. The curve balls of life are unable to knock them off course.

God will bless the fruitful believer. He'll carry them through every adversity.

Maybe you would like to be more fruitful in your Christian life. Get into God's Word. Ask Him to make you fruitful.