The Messenger

Mal 3:1a Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me….

Because He is faithful He sends His messengers to give words of hope or warning. The messenger comes in various forms and God uses them to communicate to us what we need. The messenger most often will speak through the Word of God. The Bible is God’s message to us. Within the pages of its cover hold the word of eternal life and eternal damnation. Hope and warning is given to all who seek Him in His word. The Messenger is also the man of God, or women of God that proclaims His truth without fear or favor of men. The messenger can also be a friend of a foe who speaks the truth. The truth spoken by a foe may be intended to hurt, but God can use them to reveal or heal. Lastly, God uses circumstances in our lives and the Holy Spirit speaks to us that there is a message for us to learn and be drawn closer to Him. Let us open our hearts to the message that God has for us.

Wonderful Things of God

Isaiah 25:1 Lord, thou art my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things; thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.

The wonderful things of God are seen everyday in our lives, even when things don’t always seem to be wonderful. When everything in life appears to be going wrong it is hard to see the wonderful things that God is doing. In spite of the circumstances, God is good and every good things comes down from the Father above. We may not always get what we want or what we thing we need, but He who knows best provides for the things we need. Let us look beyond our troubles and start to see what God is doing. Praise Him for all things, for those who love Him, all comes out for good.

All Things Created

Col 1:17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

His name is Jesus. Before the world was created Jesus, one with the Father, and the Holy Spirit, created the heavens and the earth. All things were made by Him and for Him. He made man in His likeness. Man was made to have fellowship with Jesus, given a free will to choose to love and worship the Creator. Sin has warped the nature of man and put within man a desire to please the self-nature of the human heart. Jesus came to earth to redeem man from this nature, but man must make a choice to deny self and believe in the redemption power of Christ. Satans, the enemy of God, does everything he can to keep man from believing. the struggle to believe is real because sin reigns within the heart of man. The choice is still ours. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved…Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.”  We were made to live in Christ, but we must choose to do so.

Repent and be Converted

Act. 3:19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.

Repenting is to be sorrowful for wrong doing and to turn away from doing it again. Many people will often be sorry for their behavior, but find themselves repeating the offense. They have not truly repented, but seek only to be relieved from the guilt of doing wrong. The process of true repentance requires a conversion. All things passed away and all things become new. A born again experience in Christ. Being converted is more than just changing religions or a mind set, it is a change of heart. The heart is the centrality of man’s passions and desires. From the heart rise the issues of life. A true repentance, will convert the heart from doing what is wrong to doing what is right. This is the center of the teaching of Bible Holiness. The heart is made new through the blood of Christ that blots out our sins, and Holy Spirit indwelling the believer to live a life that is truly repented. 

Ponder On Jesus

Luke 2:19 But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.

Christmas activities are coming to an end. Potlucks, church dinners, recitals, parties, programs, caroling, and white elephant gift exchanges. All were done in the spirit of the Christmas season. Christmas Eve and Day will wrap up the festivities of this special occasion. But, have we taken the time to ponder the reason for the season. Yes, we know the real reason, but do we really ponder the wonderful love of God. God, who so loved the world, sent His Son to earth to live and die among us. To be the everlasting gift of salvation. The gift of forgiveness, the burden of sin is gone, our sins cast into the sea of forgetfulness. His Spirit given to us to abide in us, and lead us on this earthly journey. Ponder the gift of hope, love, joy and peace. Ponder and think on Jesus. Like Mary, let us take time to ponder these things in our heart.

Look To The Lord

Micah 7:7 Therefore I will look unto the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me.

We have a habit when things start to look bad to look to the Lord for help. Sinners often will partition the Lord when things spiral out of control. Unfortunately, they often forget God after the unfortunately event has past. God is pleased when His sons and daughters cry out to Him in time of need and distress. His desire is for us to look to Him for help. It is our hope that God will not only hear our cry, but will meet our need. It may require us to wait and be still. but He is the God of our salvation and we but need to trust Him. Look to Jesus, and see what He desires to do for you. 

My Father's Business

Luke: 2:49 And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?

What is your business? What do you find yourself being busy about? We are all busy taking care of business. This is a heart searching question. What are the priorities in my life that keep me busy from day to day? What business occupies my time that I don’t take time to be about my Father’s business? As I event journal from day to day, I find that work consumes much of my day. I spend a lot of time preparing myself to be the best teacher I can be. Being good at what I do is important to me. To be fair to myself, this is what God called me to do. I’m about doing by Father’s business, doing what He called me to do. But everyone needs to work and some people work because they are just try to survive to pay the bills. My Father’s business goes beyond the 50-55 hours I put in each week. Then there is the cares of life the also consume hours of our day. Cleaning, repairing, cooking, shopping, and washing are all things that keep us busy. When do we find time to be about doing our Father’s business. Most of us are not called into full time ministry, but we all have some part in contributing to building the kingdom of God. We all have work that we can do to be about our Father’s business.  

We May Never See

Deut 34:4b …I have caused thee to see it with thine eyes, but thou shalt not go over thither.

As promised, Moses was not permitted to enter into the promise land. Yes, he dropped the ball and he paid the price, but God would not leave him without consolation. God open his eyes to see the inheritance that would be granted to his seed. For whatever reasons, we may never realized the fruit of our labors. We toil in the fields before us, sowing the seed of God’s love and Christ’s forgiveness. We may never see the harvest in our day. We take consolation in knowing that God will be faithful, and His word will not be sowed in vain. Yes, the harvest is ready, and some are gathering, but the seed must be buried before there is a harvest to reap. Moses was faithful to sow the seed of deliverance, Joshua took them into the promise land.

Failure to Believe

Luke 1:20 …because thou believest not my words,…

Failure to believe God sometimes has dire consequences. For Zacharias, it was going speechless, for Peter in was sinking into the water, and for Moses it was not being able to enter into the promise land. The spectrum of unbelief is only know by God who knows the heart of man. How often have we come to the threshold of trusting God and fail to walk on the water. Fear of the unknown, fear of being wrong, and fear what others may say or think. The failure to believe is the inability to trust God and cast away fear. Fear is the enemy of believing. Let us cast away fear by embracing God’s love. For Love will cast out fear, and when fear is God, believing is made possible. 

Loved By God

Lam. 3:22.23   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.

Life happens and it is not always good, then I recall to my mind, that I am loved by God. He will not leave me or forsake me. Problems of life consume us, and it seems like we are always climbing out of discouraging places. Morning brings a new day with a new hope that God will take us through whatever we are going through. He will not forsake His own. His love is from everlasting to everlasting. To those that love Him, He will watch, His mercies are not depleted. When it seems that we are all alone, He is there to comfort and meet our needs. 

Delivered From Sin

Roman 7:24-25 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?…I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. 

The battle wages within the hearts and minds of man. The desire to do what is right, and the desire to do what is wrong. Good vs evil, love vs hate. This is the true battle of the ages. Born in sin, under the influence of the carnal flesh, we are blinded and hindered to spiritual law of God. We attempt in our humanity to live righteous, but find that we don’t have the power to always do what is right. Whether we are unbelievers or believers the battle is always before us. The answer to this problem is made plain. Who will help us win this battle against sin? Jesus is the answer. In Christ we surrender who we are and accept Him into our lives. Even as believers, we must see that it is only through the power of Christ that we overcome evil. Jesus promise that He would send the Holy Spirit in His fullness and through the Spirit we would be led into all truth and be filled with His divine love.  Love will cast out all fear, love will defeat evil and hate. It is not in the power of our will, but in the power of His love and grace that we overcome evil with good, and hate with love. 

The god of this World

2 Corinth 4:4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

Blinded by the god of this world, people live in darkness. Satan who was cast out of heaven desires to keep people blinded from seeing the light. He is the god of this world, cultivating the carnal nature of mankind to live after the flesh. Satan is doing all he can to keep people occupied with the things of this world. The pleasures and entertainments of our culture have consumed the lives of people that there is no time to muse on truth. Lest the light of Christ penetrate the hearts of people, the god of this world is at work sowing the seed of disbelief and relevance of God’s word. Christ came to open the blinded eyes of man, but man must want his eyes open. Jesus is the light that is able to pierce the darkness and Satan is doing all he can to keep the light from shining. 

Fellowship in Christ

Ecclesiastes 4:9, 10 Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour… For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up.

Never go on a hike alone, never go swimming alone. Such advise is often given to those who seek out adventure or extracurricular activities. It is smart and safer to have someone else with you. Not good if you go alone and you fall on a hike trail, and are not able to get up and walk. Such is the advise given to us in this passage. Traveling this journey of life was not meant to be a solo walk. There are times that we might have to stand alone as David did in the face of the Giant, but it is God’s intention that we walk together as one. fellowshipping together as believers. Jesus, said that where 2 or 3 are gathered together…He will be there with us. In the beginning God said, it is not good for man to be alone. Such is God’s plan to fellowship one with another, encourage each other in the most holy faith. If a brother falls, to reach out in love and lift them up. 

The Self-Made Man

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.

The self-made man is know as a person who successfully rises to the top without the aid of inherit wealth. From rags to riches, against all odds the self-made man perseveres to achieve wealth, power, or popularity. Such a man or women is praised and used as examples that anyone who does not quit in the face of failure can make something of their lives. No doubt, such tenacity plays a part in the earthly success of individuals. But for a Christian, the reality is we can do nothing without the help of God. We were made from the clay of the earth and our lives depend on the mercy of God who gives us breath. We can strive all we can to rise to the top, but ultimately true success comes when we have submitted ourselves as clay in the hands of the potter. Allowing Him to mold us and make us into a vessel that will honor and glorify Him. The true self-made person knows that he/she can do all things, but knows that it is only through Christ that our achievements are truly realized. We our not are own, we are bought we a price. We are His people, and the sheep of His pasture. May our lives glorify Him in everything we do.